This class adopted a "long forecastle" design with inclined afterdeck called
"Holland Slope", named after the
scenic sloping street in
Nagasaki City. Their
steam turbine propulsion systems were similar to the ones of the , but they varied between each ship in the class as part of the JMSDF's attempt to find the best propulsion system for its future surface combatants. The
Ayanami class were the first JMSDF vessels equipped with six
3-inch/50 caliber Mark 22 guns with Mark 33 dual mounts and Mark 32 lightweight
torpedoes with two Mark 2 over-the-side launchers. 3-inch guns were controlled by two Mark 63 GFCSs. All seven vessels names had previously been borne by ships of the World War II-era and classes. ==See also==